Through the Years, Across the Lands
by Whisperwill
Summary: Three apprentices, three sensei. And three separate birthdays on three different years. With three highly different experiences for those involved.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the unparalleled _Naruto_. I'm making no money off this story.**

**A/N: Originally completed 9/28/10. How do you think I did in relating the tales of master and student? Read and review, pretty-please!**

**Rated K+ for blood and frightening imagery.**

**Through the Years, Across the Lands**

Kabuto was doing two of the things he did best: examining a patient and driving Sasuke nearly insane. Because that patient just happened to be Sasuke himself. Orochimaru leaned against a wall, watching, while Kabuto ran his index fingers along the major _keirakukei_ in Sasuke's body. Sasuke was peered at and poked and told to do things like "flex his shoulder," growing more and more vexed. On the whole, it was not a satisfying way to spend a thirteenth birthday. "You said you were going to teach me a new art," he complained aloud. "But instead, I waste my time with this?"

"I don't enjoy it any more than you do," Kabuto muttered as he placed his hand between Sasuke's shoulder blades. "Just be quiet so I can hear you breathe."

"Be patient, dear boy," Orochimaru bade him from the shadows. "You will only have to endure this for a little while, every year." Candlelight glinted off his fangs as he smiled. "And do not worry—I'm planning to take you someplace _very_ special for your birthday." His condescension only served to heighten Sasuke's irritation. "You see," Orochimaru went on, "today you will sign the contract with the snakes, for you cannot learn what I have to teach you until you have signed it."

"You think I'm not strong enough?" Sasuke challenged his teacher. Behind him, Kabuto at last ceased his meaningless work and pushed Sasuke to his feet with the unremarkable diagnosis of, "Perfectly healthy."

Orochimaru opened his mouth wide. From it, a snake's head protruded. Then the snake opened _its_ mouth, and—before Kabuto's unfazed and Sasuke's unnerved gazes—released the hilt of a sword. With a ring of vibrating metal, Orochimaru pulled the weapon forth and re-swallowed the snake. "Your strength, I do not doubt," he said blandly to Sasuke. "I merely find you . . ." Here he stopped talking. Sasuke started as his teacher suddenly appeared just in front of him. Orochimaru was holding the sword horizontally in his hands, and the sharp side of the blade kissed Sasuke's forehead. He blinked as blood trickled down his face. Before he could blink again, Orochimaru had disappeared, reappeared, and grazed Sasuke's cheeks with his blade, three times. ". . . rather slow," Orochimaru finished. Angrily, Sasuke swiped the blood onto the back of his hand. Orochimaru put the sword back the same way he had drawn it, while Kabuto began bandaging the slits on Sasuke's face without any by-your-leave. "Do you not realize," Orochimaru disclosed with a gleam in his eyes, "that once you sign this contract, your reaction time will _trisect_?"

Sasuke's eyes widened at that prospect. But he was wary as he stared at Orochimaru. It sounded too tempting to be so easy. What did he have to go through to attain such speed? Orochimaru stepped around behind him. Leaning over Sasuke's shoulder, he hissed into the boy's ear, "The abilities of the snakes become yours. Their speed, their striking ability, their sense of smell . . . the way they can feel vibrations through the ground . . . their taste for

_blood_. . ." He spoke the last word with hunger. His tongue poked the back of Sasuke's neck. "Or the fear of a young boy. . ."

Sasuke brushed him away and turned to face him, angry. "Take me to these snakes," he ordered his master defiantly. "I'll show you how afraid I am." Orochimaru smiled wickedly and led the both of them out of the caves.

They traveled up rocky acclivities and down into the resulting dale. Around outcrops and over streams, on and on they went, Orochimaru never seeming uncertain about the way. The wavy green grass whispered in the wind, and Sasuke began to imagine that he could hear voices among the whispers. Soon, he was certain of it. Hissing came from near his feet, or off to his left.

"Who enters?" the grass hissed. "Who enters? Who enters?" Orochimaru, who at this point had been walking at the rear of the group, moved past Kabuto and smoothly slid himself in front of Sasuke. The grass exploded with movement: Sasuke flinched with shock as two small snakes shot up from the ground. Orochimaru instantly knelt and held his arms out to his sides. The snakes' fangs sank into his outstretched palms.

"I think you'll remember me," Orochimaru sibilated. The snakes' grip lessened, and they reluctantly dropped off him.

"Lord Orochimaru," they whispered in unison. "Who else?"

"This is my apprentice, Sasuke," Orochimaru introduced him. He didn't seem disturbed by the sudden attack, or his bleeding hands. Rather, he was acting like one among old friends. "He has come to take place in the binding ritual." The little snakes circled Sasuke, sticking their tongues out to size him up.

"Lord Orochimaru and Sasuke," they hissed. "Enter."

Kabuto hadn't once moved while all this was taking place. Now, as he made the mistake of stirring, the snakes whirled toward him and bared their teeth savagely. "Not him!" they spat. "He is not worthy!"

"Yes, Kabuto, you may remain here," Orochimaru agreed pleasantly. "We will only need you to use your summoning jutsu for us."

"All right," Kabuto answered. Moving slowly, he reached to his hip to fetch a roll of parchment. In one adept movement, he unrolled it on the ground, pulled out a kunai knife, slit his index finger, and smeared a line of blood onto the paper. He began muttering measurements to himself and intermittently studying Sasuke and the symbols stamped on the parchment. "Forty-five kilograms . . . one-point two meters . . ." After a moment of calculating, he highlighted the central symbol in blood and performed the correct signs.

A boy of similar build to Sasuke appeared, dark-haired, thin, and pale. Upon sighting Kabuto, he cringed, turned, and nearly stepped on one of the snakes. He gasped in dismay, stumbled over his own feet, and whirled to run the opposite way. Then his eyes fell on Orochimaru, and he wailed in terror. With nowhere else to turn, he chose to hide behind Sasuke. For his part, Sasuke was disturbed by this turn of events. Upon closer inspection, the boy appeared to be wasting away from lack of nourishment. Sasuke wasn't at all sure he wanted to know the reason for which Orochimaru needed him.

"We won't be long," Orochimaru announced. To the snakes, whose tongues were darting out to taste Kabuto's ankles, he added, "See to it that no harm comes to Kabuto." It was the first time his voice had held even the beginnings of menace since arriving. The snakes reluctantly left Kabuto alone and slithered along next to Orochimaru as he stepped farther into the snakes' lair. "Sasuke." Orochimaru's voice was sober and commanding. "Stay behind me. Do not speak unless you are addressed. And—do everything I say."

They slipped through the grass and came upon a wall of rock. Through a tall, narrow crack in the cliff face they passed. Orochimaru led; Sasuke came after. Behind him, the boy halted, quivering, and wouldn't go in. Orochimaru paused without looking back. "You will accompany us," he ordered coldly. The threat in his voice was plain, and the boy moaned but moved to obey. He shadowed Sasuke the rest of the way through the dark, tortuous tunnel.

They were underground for some minutes before emerging into the sunlight again. In front of them was a glen that would have been lazily comforting, if there hadn't been snakes everywhere. They littered the ground, coiled around rocks, curled in piles of leaves. They slithered up tree trunks and hung from branches. There were cobras and swimmers and huge pythons. All of them stared unblinkingly at the newcomers. "Lord Orochimaru," they greeted him, the woods filling with their hisses. Orochimaru made the sign of the snake and bared his teeth in a smile.

"I have brought my apprentice for binding." He stepped through the throng, and the snakes moved to make way for him, hissing amongst themselves. They seemed to take great interest in Sasuke. Their eyes followed his every move. Though not one of them moved to strike, Orochimaru was being particularly careful to stay in front of Sasuke, so much so that Sasuke came close to bumping his sensei from behind more than once. But they passed through without incident, and entered a dense glade where the air seemed to pulse with the beat of one breath. At the center of the trees was what Sasuke at first took to be an enormous stone. When he got close enough to see that two glimmering eyes were perched on top of it, he realized that it was in fact a snake, coiled upon itself. The gargantuan creature unwound himself as they came up to him and bent his scaly head until his chin was on the ground in front of them. "Orochimaru." His hissing voice reverberated in the air all around.

"Lord Manda," Orochimaru replied with a smirk. Again he made the sign of the snake, and this time he bowed as he did. "Meet my apprentice. This is Uchiha Sasuke." Meaningfully, he eyed Sasuke, who understood the hint and bowed the same way his master had. The huge, glittering eye studied him, and Manda's tongue shot out, grazing the top of Sasuke's head and almost knocking him over.

"The new generation steps forward," he observed with faint interest.

"Indeed," Orochimaru concurred. He pulled the cowering boy forward by the shirt and draped his other arm over Sasuke's shoulder. "I have provided my share for the ritual. Now, will you do the same?" Manda slid his tail behind him and curled it around a scroll. Unlike the scrolls Sasuke was used to, the roll of this one was very long. The paper on it was yellowed with age. Manda carefully unrolled it. A long list of names was revealed. Orochimaru's was the last one on the list, and even his name was faded, as though it had been signed a long time ago. Manda eyed Sasuke again, and Sasuke got the feeling that, if the giant snake's eyes had been permitted to do so, they would have been narrowing.

"This is your wish—to sign the Contract of Binding with the Snake Clan?" he asked.

"If this is what I have to do to gain power from Orochimaru," Sasuke growled, undaunted, "I'd sign it a hundred times." Manda seemed sufficiently satisfied by this response. He drew his tail slowly over his own fang, making a long line of blood along his scales. "Then let our blood mingle," he hissed, "as our clans are pledged to one another." Sasuke took out a kunai knife and slit the tip of his index finger.

"You'll have to offer more blood than that, Sasuke," Orochimaru told him with a sneer. He closed his hand over Sasuke's so that both of them were holding the knife, and forced the blade toward his apprentice's elbow. With a swift slash, he cut open Sasuke's arm from elbow to wrist. Sasuke cried out in surprise and pain, which Orochimaru seemed to take sadistic pleasure in. He pulled Sasuke's arm up so that the blood trickled down to his shoulder. Manda wrapped his tail powerfully around the proffered arm, and Sasuke thought that, if the two bloods hadn't been so lubricating, his arm might have snapped under the pressure. To his relief, Manda soon released his hold, and Orochimaru allowed the arm to drop limply.

Manda dipped the tip of his tail into a well of ink and brushed it over the paper, tracing several symbols in a circular pattern. He indicated the center of the circle to Sasuke and ordered,

"Sign your name." Sasuke, watchful in case he was about to be threatened again, nevertheless

crept forward and plunged his finger into the ink. He wrote his name down and backed off to stand next to Orochimaru. "The Clan of Snakes and the Clan Uchiha," Manda proclaimed. He slid the scroll shut again. "The two are bound by blood." Turning his head so that his eye could have an uninhibited view of Sasuke, he hissed, "According to tradition, seal the contract with the blood sacrifice." Sasuke looked uncertainly at his teacher. Orochimaru smiled chillingly and yanked the boy Kabuto had summoned in front of Sasuke.

"This boy will serve as the sacrifice, Sasuke," he said placidly. "He must fall by your hand."

"I have to kill him?" murmured Sasuke. The boy in front of him began to cry soundlessly. No sobs escaped him, even though his whole body was shaking. Sasuke swallowed hard.

"His life means _nothing_, Sasuke," Orochimaru purred insidiously. "And many more like him must fall in the quest for power." Seeing his student's hesitation, his face slowly slid into a frown. "Do it. Now. Take up your kunai."

Manda watched the proceedings with interest. Orochimaru waited impatiently and the boy wept, while Sasuke came to a realization of what he had to do. There was a way to power. He had chosen to allow Orochimaru to lead him down it, and he intended to remain apprenticed until he was a master himself. So he had to remain obedient to Orochimaru, while still staying true to his own vow. In his quest to _kill_ Itachi, he would not become _like_ Itachi.

He turned his back on Manda and bowed to his sensei. "Lord Orochimaru," he began respectfully. "If you will permit me, I have a new jutsu I want to show you. I think it will make Lord Manda see things my way."

Orochimaru appeared suspicious at his sudden shift toward a more compliant behavior. "Do it _after_ sealing the agreement," he told Sasuke. Then Manda intervened.

"The sacrifice can wait," he decided leniently. "I am interested to see this jutsu your apprentice speaks of." Orochimaru nodded guardedly and jerked his chin at Sasuke. Having received his permission, Sasuke gave a secret smirk and looked Manda straight in the eyes.

"This contract is an agreement of equal privileges between two parties. It is not an enslavement of one party by another," he declared. Manda's lip curved upward to show his fang.

"What are you saying?" he hissed.

"The contract has been signed and is now legal." Sasuke glared into the golden eyes with defiance. "I will obey Orochimaru-sensei, but you? _I_ am the summoner; why should I be forced to do what you say?" Manda spat with fury.

"Enough, Sasuke!" barked Orochimaru, coming to his apprentice's side and holding out his arm. He seemed to think he might need to protect Sasuke's life at any moment, and it wasn't a far-fetched notion, with Manda looking so ferocious. Without taking his eyes off Manda's once, Sasuke called on all the precision and control he had learned in five years at the Ninja Academy. He kicked out to his right to hit the boy in the sternum and send him sprawling. Calling on his chakra, he awakened his sharingan and focused all his thought on Manda's mind.

"You are not my master—Orochimaru is. And I am not your slave. You can't bend me to your whims." He clenched his fist. "I am Uchiha Sasuke. I am Orochimaru's apprentice. You can't control me." His plan was falling into place: he knew it even as he watched. After giving in to his wrath, Manda hadn't noticed Sasuke's eyes change color until it was too late. Now his slitted eyes were blank, almost glazed over. The boy who was to have been the sacrifice had struggled to his feet and raced away. Orochimaru was completely absorbed in watching the conflict unfold between his apprentice and his familiar. He watched with wide eyes to see the

outcome. Sasuke, smirking at his victory, finished, "I am not yours to command." He stood

without backing down, letting his eyes bore into the snake's. He was rather expectant that Manda would strike him down, but the huge serpent dipped his head obligingly.

"Yes, it is as you say," he agreed, his voice flat. With his objective achieved, Sasuke dared to take his eyes off his quarry and glance his teacher. Orochimaru seemed flummoxed, and unsure what to say. He began shunting Sasuke backwards, shooting confused stares at Lord Manda, who still acted almost sedated. Sasuke and Orochimaru backed away from him and bowed again before leaving his presence. They left the clan grounds the way they had come, Sasuke remaining in his sensei's shadow.

When they were on their way back to the lair, Orochimaru looked sharply at Sasuke. "You defied Manda," he observed darkly. Sasuke didn't know if his teacher was pleased or displeased. He waited tensely for the verdict, uncertain if punishment was to come. But Orochimaru smiled his approval. "Your _dojutsu_ is _stunning_, Sasuke. I think I chose quite well when I made you my apprentice."


	2. Chapter 2

Over the table in front of them, Tsunade's finger flew, pointing out various locations on the diagram that was embroidered into the tablecloth. Sakura, straining her concentration to the limit, strove to remember on the fly all she had learned in the past two years. "Sternum! The fourth _keirakukei_ channel! Renal vein! Brain stem! Sciatic nerve! Keimon, the Gate of Joy!"

"And what does it do?" Tsunade demanded to know.

"Keimon limits the amount of chakra flowing through the abdomen."

"Why couldn't a chakra infusion be attempted through the Gate of Joy?" Tsunade prompted her.

"Bursts of chakra cannot be suddenly fed into any of the gates without serious damage being done to the patient. However, it can be fed slowly into the _tenketsu_ or _keirakukei_."

"Then why do chakra infusions exist, if they're proven to be so hazardous?" challenged Tsunade.

"They are to be used as a last resort, if it is determined that the damage caused by a chakra infusion would be outweighed by the damage of another injury."

"And why don't infusions threaten a dying patient?"

"Because the gates open when the body senses that death is imminent," Sakura finished. She was thrilled that she had been able to remember everything from the medic scrolls, and Tsunade seemed pleased, too, in her reserved way.

"Since the discovery of chakra, many great medical advances have been made," she said. "But remember that chakra is not an instant miracle-worker. It has rules that govern its use, and it could kill just as easily as it could save a life." She stared at Sakura soberly. "That's why you have to know all this by heart—not only that, but remember it with perfect clarity, even when there are lives in the balance. The knowledge required of a medic ninja is far greater than that needed by an ordinary shinobi." She pulled a wry grin. "That's why I wondered why you wanted to become my apprentice in the first place."

"I want to heal and help my fellow shinobi, Lady Tsunade!" Sakura declared earnestly. "Someday, I'll be as gifted a medic as you are!"

"Yes, you will," Tsunade mused. "You don't have a huge level of chakra, but your control of your chakra is phenomenal. And you can memorize terms faster than anyone I've ever met. You're the perfect _kunoichi_ to be my apprentice. At your current rate of progress, you'll probably surpass me eventually."

"Really?" Sakura said delightedly. "Thank you, Sensei!"

"It's not flattery; it's the truth," Tsunade told her. She got up from the table and stretched. "Aah, all this drilling makes me dizzy. We'll call it a day." She left the room, calling over her shoulder, "Review the clotting procedures once more before you go."

"Yes, ma'am!" Sakura replied. She pulled the practice dummy out of the corner and laid it on its back. As she pressed her hands into the dummy's upper arm, practicing the chakra application for a severed brachial artery, Shizune walked in.

"Hard at work as usual, I see," she remarked with a smile. "Don't forget that you have to keep up the pressure, even if the victim asks you to stop. And keep your hands steady— sometimes the blood makes things slippery." Sakura sat back on her heels and decided to ask the question she had been wondering about for some time.

"Lady Shizune," she began, "why do I have to use this mannequin?" When Shizune looked puzzled, Sakura went on, "I mean . . . why haven't I practiced on a cadaver yet, or even done internship at Konoha Hospital? I know it's hard to see surgical procedures and injuries up close," she conceded, "but how am I ever going to learn—how can I become an asset to the Medical Corps—unless I'm allowed to get hands-on experience?" She bit her lip. "Doesn't Lady Tsunade think I'm ready?"

Shizune seemed rueful and almost embarrassed. "No, that's not it, Sakura. Actually, you should have graduated to cadavers some time ago. It's just that . . ." She sighed deeply. ". . . with Lady Hokage's fear of blood, well . . ."

"Lady Tsunade has hemophobia?" Sakura ejaculated incredulously.

"Yes," Shizune admitted in a low voice. ". . . And that's why she hasn't gotten any cadavers from the morgue. She struggles against this innate fear—and she's afraid for you, too. You see, oftentimes when medical apprentices get their first glimpse of blood and sutures . . . when they see firsthand how brutal the field of battle can be . . ." She shrugged helplessly. "They back out of training. And that's why m'lady is . . . holding you back. She just doesn't want a student with so much potential to be dropped from the program."

Sakura was touched by this information. "Thank you," she murmured. "I'm happy both of you have such confidence in me." She stared at Shizune. "But I can't let myself be slack in my training. I have to keep getting better and better. You understand, don't you, Lady Shizune?"

"Yes, I do. Maybe we can help Lady Hokage see things your way." Shizune smiled and helped Sakura to her feet. "You're one of the most promising students Konoha has seen in many years, Sakura. You know that?"

"I'm glad you think so," Sakura mumbled, blushing. "I'm doing my best."

They went downstairs, and Shizune left to find Tsunade. When a knock came from the front door and Sakura opened it, she was glad neither women were there. It was Hirota Tatami, a fellow medic student of hers studying from a master next door. She got the feeling he was sweet on her, but she couldn't bring herself to resist his company. The brown-haired boy was good-natured and enjoyable to be with. More importantly, he was just as earnest about his training as Sakura was, and they had gotten into many a discussion about the fine applications of medicine to the ill and wounded. His eyes brightened when he saw it was her. "Hey, Sakura. I got off about an hour ago, and I figured you'd still be at it, the way Master Tsunade works you." He grinned to show he was teasing. "Can I come in? Or better yet, can you come out?" Sakura laughed.

"Sure. Come on in, Tatami."

"So what have you been studying?" he asked as he came inside.

"Just simple identification—anatomy labeling, that sort of thing," Sakura told him, trying not

to sound embarrassed. Her current work was meant for younger apprentices—practically beginners.

"You haven't gotten your hands dirty yet?" He kept his tone light, but she could tell he was surprised. She was supposed to have moved on months ago.

"Well, Lady Tsunade doesn't seem to think I'm ready," Sakura explained awkwardly. She would never be so impudent as to speak out against her teacher, but deep down, she was impatient to be given training for which she could actually rise to the challenge.

"That's a shame," Tatami remarked. "I mean, it's no picnic or anything, working with the wounded. I have to be the best I can possibly be, and sometimes it's still not good enough. Good thing I have Master Igaku watching my back." When he saw the disheartened look on Sakura's face, he said quickly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been bragging."

"No, it's all right," Sakura assured him. "I wanted to know what it's like."

"Well, do you want to go out?" he asked her, changing the subject. "Even us medic students have to take a break once in a while, right?"

"Yes, I'd—" Sakura stopped when Tsunade entered the room. "Oh, m'lady!" she greeted her master, and both she and Tatami instantly bowed. "Th-this is Hirota Tatami," Sakura introduced him, hoping Tsunade wouldn't be angry. "He . . . he invited me to go out with him." She shut one eye and waited. Either Tsunade would berate her for the suggestion of slacking off, or she would permit them to leave. As it turned out, she did the former.

"Sakura, you're fourteen years old now," she pointed out impatiently and waved her hand. "Act your age." Stung by her master's criticism, Sakura went red and bowed her head.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry." She turned in disappointment to Tatami and said quietly, "You'll have to leave now. I must get back to my training."

"Sakura!" Tsunade sounded more irritable than before, and Sakura snapped to attention.

"Yes, Sensei?" But she was surprised to see that Lady Tsunade was smiling.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" She gestured at the door. "Go act your age." At last realizing what her teacher meant, Sakura beamed.

"Thank you, m'lady! I won't stay out long, I promise."

"Good," Tsunade agreed approvingly. "Because when you get back, I'll take you over to the hospital. It's high time you started training with the real thing." Sakura's grin became even wider as she left the Hokage's palace with Tatami. She couldn't picture a more perfect birthday present.


End file.
